📚 Rose Gold by Walter Mosley 📚

In this new mystery set in the Patty Hearst era of radical black nationalism and political abductions, a black ex-boxer self-named Uhuru Nolica, the leader of a revolutionary cell called Scorched Earth, has kidnapped Rosemary Goldsmith, the daughter of a weapons manufacturer, from her dorm at UC Santa Barbara. If they don’t receive the money, weapons, and apology they demand, “Rose Gold” will die—horribly and publicly. So the FBI, the State Department, and the LAPD turn to Easy Rawlins, the one man who can cross the necessary borders to resolve this dangerous standoff. With twelve previous adventures since 1990, Easy Rawlins is one of the small handful of private eyes in contemporary crime fiction who can be called immortal. Rose Gold continues his ongoing and unique achievement in combining the mystery/PI genre form with a rich social history of postwar Los Angeles—and not just the black parts of that sprawling city.

Easy’s back! After a near death experience, Easy Rawlins returns to the P.I. scene.Set in the 1960’s with hippies and drugs and radical life, Rosemary Goldsmith has been kidnapped. Roger Fisk contacts Easy to help with the search, with some reluctance Rawlins takes on the job of finding Rose Gold.

As with most Mosley novels, the plot moves forward with several intense subplots that move the prose along smoothly. A black boxer is accused of various crimes, a child is stolen and romantic obsessions occur. However, none of that deters Mosely to get to the bottom of what happened to Rose Gold.

Walter Mosley is one of my favorite authors, his descriptive language, and vivid prose brings to life an era long since past. The Easy Rawlins series is one that will live on for eternity. I highly recommend.

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Black Girl Magic Lit Mag is a literary magazine created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority voices and characters in speculative fiction, especially Black women’s voices. Black Girl Magic Lit Mag believes that by showcasing stories featuring Black female voices and characters we can create a reflection of ourselves in the literature that we love, in a world where our images are constantly controlled, shaped, and distorted by those outside of our experiences .

How gorgeous is this cover art?

Black Girl Magic Lit Mag features a genre of fiction that often excludes women of color, specifically black women. The stories include paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and steampunk. Issues 1 and 2 are available on Amazon.

Issue 3 just dropped and can be purchased here in a variety of formats. And: Use code 3peat

🎭 Harlem Nights and Footstep Blues 🎭

Harlem Nights and Footstep Blues is a poetry collection consisting of 65 poems. The poems are separated into 11 distinct sections that tell their own story while still fitting into the overall story of the collection. Although not limited to African American influences and content, the collection is very much inspired by the work of African American poets and writers like Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Frederick Douglass and from the black cultural, social, and artistic revival that took place during the period known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Harlem Nights and Footstep Blues is about encapsulating the Harlem Renaissance state of mind and encouraging young black minds to express themselves and “catch a glimmer of their own beauty” as Langston Hughes urged his young black contemporaries to do in his essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (1926), albeit with modern flair. The creative license that black artists had to express themselves and their art during the Harlem Renaissance is the blueprint for the poetry and artistic expression in the collection. Harlem Nights and Footstep Blues is rooted in a modern sense of black cultural, social, and artistic rebirth while paying homage to the artistic foundation laid by the great pioneers of the past.

REVIEW:

It’s not often I’m sent a book that pulls me in right away. Usually, there is a waiting period on reviews, especially now with all the things I have going on. But I received this book for review on Monday, I flipped through it and put it on the shelf with the others. And every time I passed that shelf it called out to me. I’d read a page and put it back I did this half the day and night. Until this afternoon, I just seized it and dove straight in.

More often than not, poetry has to be felt by the reader. It has to touch something within them for them grasp the poet’s intention. Harlem Nights and Footstep Blues is that kinda book.

There are several pieces that I enjoyed and below are three that stuck with me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A native of South Florida, Julius Jamaal McLean is an African American writer, poet, and creator striving to encourage, influence, and represent the voice of young artists. Inspired by the work and creativity of African American writers like Langston Hughes and James Baldwin, his debut poetry book Harlem Nights and Footstep Blues evolved organically from a desire to create something relatable, impactful, and relevant to modern social issues and culture. Julius’ poetry is a way for him to speak from the perspective of those from his demographic who are not given the opportunity to speak for themselves often. His desire is for the sound of his own voice to ignite the passion within those of his generation and motivate them to express themselves in the same manner.

📚 Her Perfect Catch 📚

BUY THE BOOK: http://amzn.to/29GfcyS

A CATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Sometimes love is in your grasp and all you need to do is hold on…

Nerdy, struggling sports writer Melanie Vincent needs a miracle when her dream of running a nationally recognized blog hits a snag due to low readership. After Mel is gifted a pair of Super Bowl tickets for years of faithful dog sitting, she has a chance encounter with her favorite football player, star wide receiver Jet Jamison. Their fateful meeting leads to the inside scoop on the biggest story of her career…and just maybe the love of a lifetime.

REVIEW:

Love is right before you…if you just open your eyes.

Melanie Vincent is the hidden face behind the struggling sports blog, The Vin Report. Her best friend Dylan agrees to be the face of Mel Vin. With everything invested in the Vin Report, Melanie is afraid she won’t last past the next few months. As her birthday approaches, her friend gives her tickets to see her favorite sports team in the playoffs. Attending with Dylan, Melanie misses the perfect catch, thrown by C.J., Jet Jamison’s brother and it knocks her out.

Meeting Jet Jamison, Melanie doesn’t reveal who she really is, leading Jet to believe her name is Dylan. Insert trouble here. Football’s bad boy Jet Jamison, really needs to turn his image around. And after his first date with Mel as Dylan, he believes he’s found the perfect mix of a woman. She has it all, brains and beauty.

Her Perfect Catch is a perfect mix of clean romance and comedy with a dose of drama. I enjoyed the beginning of this series and look forward to seeing where the game takes Mel, Dylan and Jet in the future.

📚 I love him…Anyway 2 📚

Tears coursed down Melinda’s face as the doctor’s words resonated inside her. Jeremy stood beside the hospital bed holding her hand is if someone shot him.
“I am so sorry Mr. and Mrs. Stuart, I am so sorry, last week everything seemed fine. The only thing I can offer is perhaps something happened with the fetus…” the doctor said. Melinda turned her tear stained face to look into the doctor’s eyes.
“Fetus? Doctor, I am eight months pregnant. I didn’t lose a fetus; I lost a baby, a baby who if he had been born would have been viable. My baby is dead inside me and you need to keep the platitudes and deliver him so I can grieve.”
Jeremy clutched her hands tighter, unable to speak and glanced at his mother, Marva and Melinda’s mother, Alicia who had flown in from Miami to find out hours later her grandchild passed.
The doctor nodded, telling them they were taking Melinda to surgery. Jeremy kissed her gently, telling her he loved her before walking out behind his mother and mother in law.
The three of them sat quietly in the waiting room unable to offer words of comfort to the other. Everything happened so quickly. Alicia arrived, they were planning dinner and a shower and suddenly Melinda didn’t feel well and was cramping. The doctor told them to come to the hospital and it was discovered their child was no longer alive. Jeremy felt as if something in him died also.
¥¥¥¥¥
“Hey.” Jeremy said when Melinda’s eyes opened.
She had been under general anesthesia and was in recovery. She touched her belly and Jeremy flinched. The pain on her face matched his internal anguish. He could not imagine how she must feel having carried their child.
“Where is he?”
“Your dad isn’t here, your mom is with mom; they are getting food in the cafeteria.”
“No, I mean the baby?”
“They have him, I mean he is in the…” He was unable to say morgue.
“I want to have a proper funeral,” Melinda said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m positive and when that is done, I think we need to discuss this marriage.”
Jeremy felt as if she had punched him. “What about it? Things have been good,” he murmured.
“We need to discuss if it is viable or if like our son, it is gone.” Turning away, she closed her eyes, leaving Jeremy unsure what to say.
There had been some struggles but he thought they were past those and settled into a routine, preparing for the baby. He dropped down in the chair next to her.

REVIEW:

When my life is in disarray my reading suffers. This last past month my reading suffered a lot. However, Jeremy and Melinda brought me out of my current slump.

The second book in the series is a prelude of sorts. It starts off with Melinda and Jeremy facing the tragic event of losing their first born child. That in itself is hard enough but the challenges their marriage will face doesn’t stop there.

Melinda has been harboring a secret from Jeremy, secrets that leave him wondering, who did he marry. The aftermath that follows the loss of her child, sends Melinda into several stages. Her jealousy of Florence increases, making the friends, now frienemies. Yet while everyone is focused on Melinda’s pain and suffering most seem to forget about Jeremy and his pain. Losing a child is hard for any parent and being a man Jeremy had to place his feelings on hold to deal with those of his wife.

This author is no stranger to tackling issues that plague the community as a whole. In I love him…Anway II: Jeremy and Melinda deal with many of those issues. Covering up the ugly with a pretty bandage doesn’t erase it nor heal it. Melinda and Jeremy learn this lesson the hard way. Will their marriage survive? Grab your copy and find out.

📚 The Real Mrs. Price 📚

Lucy Price is living the American dream. She has been married to her successful husband and businessman, Edward Price for a year and couldn’t be happier until she learns that Eddie is a dangerously ruthless man, heavily involved in illegal activities that threaten not only her marriage, but her life. Eddie abruptly disappears, but not before warning Lucy that if she wants to keep breathing she’d better keep her mouth shut. Six months later, word of her husband surfaces when she learns that he is presumed murdered in a small Texas town, apparently killed by his “wife”, Marlowe Price.

Marlowe is no stranger to trouble. An outcast in her own community for being one of those “hoodoo women,” who can curse you or cast you under her beguiling spell, Marlowe is shunned at every turn. Six months ago, a whirlwind romance in Mexico led Marlowe to marry the man she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. For Marlowe and Eddie, there is no such thing as trouble in paradise. But late one night, when Marlowe witnesses her husband putting the body of a dead man in the trunk of his car, the illusion comes crashing down around her and she knows she has to move fast before the devil comes calling once again.

Now, Lucy and Marlowe must come together to find out where and who Eddie really is, and help each other through the threat he poses. There’s nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned…except for two women scorned who are willing to put their pasts behind them and band together to take one bad man down…

REVIEW:

What would you do if your estranged husband turns up dead, burnt to a crisp one day out of the blue? When the shock wears off, you also discover your presumed dead husband also has another wife. That’s the journey Lucy Price is on after her estranged husband Edward Price resurfaces, dead.

In an effort to reclaim her life, Lucy feels the need to prove that Eddie is really and truly dead. Her mission unites her with Roman Medlock, the former cop, turned PI. After Roman sets a meeting for Lucy and Marlowe to meet the mysterious tide turns. There is also an undeniable attraction between the couple.

Marlowe Price, is wife number two. Marlowe Price seems to always find herself leading with her heart instead of her head. When her Aunt Shou Shou, calls and tells her to read the bones, they warn her of the darkness that’s coming her way. Suspected of murder, Marlowe doesn’t believe the body found is that of her husband Edward Price.

When Osiris Plato Wells, enters the scene…temperatures are rising (In my best Raheem DeVaughn voice). The physical attraction between O.P. and Marlowe is instant, but the warning from the bones, sets her tooth to grind.

This book follows the four characters as they try to find out if Edward Price is really deceased or playing ghost! Can the two women put their scorned feelings aside to find out the truth?

I really enjoyed this book. It is a mashup of mystery/suspense with a tinge of paranormal voodoo. As our book of the month, this was my first read by J.D. Mason but it surely won’t be my last.

Dillon hadn’t been called by anyone. He’d called himself and he wasn’t ashamed of it. But no good can come from . . .

A SINFUL CALLING

Two years ago, to everyone’s surprise, Dillon Whitfield Black, the secret son of Reverend Curtis Black, boldly moved back home, married a woman named Raven, decided he was going to become a minister, and then founded a church right in the center of his living room. Today he’s pastor of a 1,000-plus-member congregation, and new members are joining weekly. Sadly, behind closed doors, Dillon is far from being a saint. Dillon has become more like the man his father was thirty years ago-consumed with money, power, and lots of women. His family may have let bygones be bygones, but they continue to keep their distance.

Not Alicia, though. This daughter of Curtis Black joins Dillon’s congregation, leaving her father’s church behind. The family has forgiven Alicia for marrying Levi Cunningham, the former drug dealer she had an affair with, but once Alicia realizes they will never fully accept Levi, she decides to see her family less and less. She and Levi are truly happy, however, guilt from her betrayal of Phillip and its aftermath casts a shadow over their wedded bliss.

But when Raven decides she wants a higher position in the church and Alicia hides a devastating secret, the entire family is affected in ways they don’t see coming. In the end, no one will be able to trust anyone . . . and for very good reason.

REVIEW:

The Black’s are back….The Black’s are back!!

Dillon hadn’t been called by anyone. He’d called himself and he wasn’t ashamed of it. But no good can come from . . .

Book 13 focuses on the lives of Dillion Whitfield Black, the first born child of Rev. Curtis Black and his daughter Alicia. When Dillion returns to Mitchell with plans to take over Mitchell’s mega church position, he didn’t count on real salvation taking root in his life. Married to Raven, Dillion’s relationship with the other members of the Black family are non-existent with the exception of Alicia and her husband Levi. As their bond grows strong, secrets hidden by both Alicia and Dillion begin to unravel and threaten to tear both of their lives apart.

After being ostracized from her family after her first husband’s death, Alicia struggles with some issues, she’s afraid to tell anyone including her husband Levi.

Can the pot call the kettle black?

Will the lesson’s taught weekly during Sunday service, by Rev. Black finally hit home. Faith, Love, Family, and forgiveness are all lessons that continually go around.

Over the years I’ve enjoyed all the books in the Curtis Black series, and this one was no different. Kimberla Roby tackled many issues such as depression, alcoholism, mental illness and family virtue and wrapped them all up in a pretty package that anyone could comprehend.